Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Jump to a topic:

• Accounting Entries
• Allowable Purchases
• Calculation of Expenditures
• Chart of Accounts
• Determination of the Number of Textbooks to be Purchased
• Distribution of Textbooks on an Equitable Basis
• District Consultation
• Excluded Materials
• Individual Student Requests
• Loss or Damage of Textbooks
• Project Completion Report
• Purchasing Timeline
• Receipt, Labeling, and Storage of Textbooks
• State Aid Payments

Expenditures for the purchase of textbooks may include the cost of freight or postage for transporting the books from the vendor to the delivery site, not to exceed the publisher’s actual cost. Any excess freight or postage fees (above the publisher’s actual cost) will be applied to the purchase of the textbooks. The board must enter the cost of textbooks for nonpublic school students in the special revenue fund in the account designated in the minimum chart of accounts.

The board must record State aid received pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:58-37.1 et seq. separately in the special revenue fund as State aid.

The district shall approve the purchase and loan of textbooks for distribution to nonpublic schools only under the following circumstances:

1. Each textbook shall be one that is used in any public elementary or secondary school in New Jersey, or is approved to be used in any public elementary or secondary school by any New Jersey district board of education.
2. Each textbook shall be secular/nonsectarian and shall not contain religious content.
3. Prior to approval, to ascertain whether the textbooks are secular/nonsectarian, the district shall request from the nonpublic school, and the nonpublic school shall provide to the district:
   1. Description of the textbook’s content
   2. Name of the course for which it will be used

In the event that there is a dispute over the allowability of a textbook, the nonpublic school will have to provide documentation establishing that the book is used in a New Jersey public school district and/or approved by a district board of education.

Textbooks published in an electronic format (digital textbooks) are included under the Nonpublic Textbook Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:58-37.2(c). Digital textbooks, also known as e-textbooks or e-texts, offer students media-rich content such as embedded videos, interactive presentations and hyperlinks to additional content which may also benefit access for students with disabilities.

The calculation for textbooks expended by school districts includes:

• Local funds
• State funds

There is no distinction made between the use of state and local funds in school district budget line items.

Funds expended by school districts for the purchase of e-books and related courseware are included in the calculation used to determine the annual funding amount.

All school districts are required to follow the Uniform Chart of Accounts (N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-16.1). Districts use the chart of accounts to develop their annual budgets and record their financial transactions. Refer to the Annual School District Budget webpage for the Budget Guidelines and Electronic Data Collection Manual and Appendix C: Minimum Chart of Accounts.

Textbooks are recorded under object 640 and include expenditures for:

• Books
• Textbooks
• Courseware and content-based instructional materials:
  • In electronic format
  • Furnished free to students
  • Required as a primary source of study material intended to implement a major part of a state or local curriculum.

Textbooks also include:

• Binding and other textbook repair
• Freight of textbooks

In calculating the number of textbooks to order, the board need not be limited by the number used to determine the State allocation for each nonpublic school (which was based on the student count from the previous school year). Rather, it is the State funding allocation for each nonpublic school and the nonpublic school’s current need that will determine the number of textbooks to purchase. The district should consult with the nonpublic school to determine the students’ needs in the budgeted year and then purchase textbooks in an amount not to exceed the State’s entitlement for each nonpublic school. NJDOE has created a template form that includes the number of desired textbooks and their titles/vendors: Nonpublic School Textbook Consolidated Request Form (found in the Forms box on this page).

Textbooks must be distributed to nonpublic school students on an equitable basis and based on the students’ instructional needs. For example, although some students require textbooks totaling more than the per student amount, other students require textbooks that cost less than or are equal to the per-student amount, or do not require new textbooks because appropriate books are already in the district’s inventory. In this way, the board may purchase textbooks in excess of the individual per student amount for a segment of the population, as long as every student receives equitable benefit from the textbook loan program.

The district must consult with the nonpublic school prior to the start of the school year to:

1. Inform the nonpublic school of their funding entitlements
2. Ensure understanding of the nonpublic school's needs regarding textbooks

The following materials are not considered textbooks and are excluded.

1. Reference Materials

Reference materials, of which the student does not have individual use, are excluded.

• Almanacs
• Atlases
• Encyclopedias
• General/special purpose dictionaries

2. Supplementary Materials

• Audiovisual materials normally housed in the school library
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Supplementary books

3. Other Materials

• Computers (hardware) including consoles
• Computer software materials such as:
  • Blank disks or tapes or cassettes
  • Cassette recorders
  • Computer chips
  • Computer correction devices
• Teachers' editions of textbooks and review books
• Tests and testing materials

The purpose of the individual written requests for textbooks is to ensure that nonpublic school students meet the eligibility requirements. All nonpublic school students’ parents are required to submit individual written requests to the board in which the nonpublic school is located. See the Individual Student Request Form for Loan of Textbooks. Completed individual student request forms must be available at the nonpublic school or at the district board of education for audit purposes. The parent of a nonpublic school student may submit the individual written request directly to the board in which the nonpublic school is located, or to the nonpublic school. In the latter case, the nonpublic school must forward all the requests together to the district. The individual written requests are due to the board by March 1 of the preceding school year. No more than one form per student is required.

For purchasing purposes, it is recommended that the nonpublic school send the district a form that indicates the current number of desired textbooks by title/vendor. Schools may use the Nonpublic School Textbook Consolidated Request Form (found in the Forms box on this page).

The applicable statutes and administrative citations are clear that textbooks must be loaned to students without charge; therefore, no fees may be assessed in connection with this program. However, the board may include, as part of its rules and regulations, a requirement that students are responsible for reimbursement in the event of damage to, loss of, or destruction of loaned textbooks. If such a rule is imposed, it must apply to both public and nonpublic school students.

Following the completion of fiscal operations, the board in which the nonpublic school is located shall report to the NJDOE, in a final fiscal report, the total final expenditures for each nonpublic program. The report will include, but not be limited to, the following financial information:

• State entitlement for textbooks paid to the district
• District expenditures on textbooks
• Refund due to the State

If any funds remain, the district must refund the unexpended State aid after the school year.

Although a board does not receive nonpublic school textbook funds until July, it is recommended that the district prepare all purchase orders to textbook publishers by June 30, and that it use an estimated per textbook amount and the number of students recorded on the Nonpublic School Enrollment Report. A per textbook amount of $50.00 could be used as an estimate because it is lower than the average per pupil dollar amount anticipated in the entitlement.

Districts should consult with their attorney/solicitor to determine whether the Public School Contracts Law applies to the purchase of nonpublic textbooks, and to determine the requisite approval for the purchase of nonpublic textbooks.

Preparation of all purchase orders, notwithstanding outstanding funding, will allow the procurement process to be expedited upon receipt of the funds. Once the funds are allocated, the board should notify the nonpublic school of their allocation within one week, and adjust the purchase order accordingly. Upon submission of the order, the district should send a copy of the purchase order to the nonpublic school administrator, and notify the nonpublic school of the purchase and delivery date.

All textbooks remain the property of the district board of education in which the nonpublic school is located. Ownership must be indicated in or on each book by a label. The board of education is responsible for receipt of the textbooks from the vendor and inventory of such textbooks. However, if the board and the nonpublic school administrator agree, the textbooks may be delivered directly to the nonpublic school since this typically results in a more timely delivery of the textbooks to the nonpublic school.

The State aid payment will be calculated based on the State average budgeted textbook expense per public school student for the prebudget year, multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the nonpublic school as of the last school day prior to October 16 of the previous school year. This same number shall be recorded on the Nonpublic School Enrollment Report. State aid will be paid, in full, to boards not later than July 31 of the year for which it is requested.

Boards are not required to purchase textbooks at a total cost to the district in excess of the amounts provided by State aid.